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Ross 128
Ross 128 UAS: Ross 128 Also known as Ross Torus The system is known to Earth Science since pre-Astro times. It was first surveyed for United Earth in 2113 OTT as part of the Sol Neighborhood Survey . Conducted by United Earth Space Authority (UESA) under command of Captain Stanley Hebert (New Zealand) and the UES Cleopatra (A former Saran ship). The Survey confirmed the existence of Ross 128 was surveyed very early after the Ascent by United Earth. The survey confirmed the existence of Ross 128 b (Now UAS: Ross-Be) and three other planets. It is assumed that the system had more planets at one time. There are five moons and seven asteroids. A thin asteroid belt between the second and third planet. None of the planets harbored native biospheres and none within the goldilocks zone. The system was deemed of little use to other civilizations for the expanding United Earth it was of interest as it was close to Earth it was claimed. At first, a space station was established, first simply for presence reasons. A long-range fighter base was added as a potential war against the Freons loomed. While the planets were only gradually utilized and colonized, the base grew into a stopover and logistics distribution place as the system was an easy stopover system gravity well for Hyper Jump drive equipped ships. When the Isah drive became widely available the importance of Ross 128 declined somewhat but the base was kept operative. During the 3rd Intergalactic War a major battle was fought at Ross 128 and the Station almost completely destroyed. After the Peace Hawk period ended, it was decided to build up the fleet. To have a future main fleet base where all ships could be serviced, repaired and large numbers built, the idea of a Thorus an artificial ring around Ross 128 b was born, first ridiculed as fantastic and impossible, but the speech of a 14-year-old Pan Saran boy visiting the Assembly changed the reception of that idea and it was decided to go forward. (3416)(The young Pan Saran said: Nothing should be impossible for the Union and that such a construct would provide many new inventions, new technologies and new construction techniques.) It was then decided to built an independent ring.(Independent from any planet) The Ross Torus idea was born in 3416 The planning and preparation alone took decades. First Construction activities Planning and engineering begun in 3417 (See Ross 128 Torus ) The System Ross 128 is a red dwarf in the equatorial zodiac constellation of Virgo, near β Virginis. The apparent magnitude of Ross 128 is 11.13, which is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Based upon parallax measurements, the distance of this star from Earth is 11.007 light-years (3.375 parsecs), making it the twelfth closest stellar system to the Solar System. It was first cataloged in 1926 by American astronomer Frank Elmore Ross. This low mass star has a stellar classification of M4 V, which places it among the category of stars known as red dwarfs. It has 15% of the mass of the Sun and 21% of the Sun's radius, but generates energy so slowly that it has only 0.033% of the Sun's visible luminosity; however, most of the energy being radiated by the star is in the infrared band, with the bolometric luminosity being equal to 0.36% of solar. This energy is being radiated from the star's outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 3,180 K.4 This gives it the cool orange-red glow of an M-type star. Ross 128 is an old disk star, which means it has a low abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium, what astronomers term the star's metallicity, and it orbits near the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. The star lacks a strong excess of infrared radiation. An infrared excess is usually an indicator of a dust ring in orbit around the star. In 1972, a flare was detected from Ross 128. It was observed to increase in brightness by about half a magnitude in the ultraviolet U band, returning to normal brightness in less than an hour. At optical wavelengths, the brightness changes were almost undetectable.20 It was classified as a flare star and given the variable star designation FI Virginis. Because of the low rate of flare activity, it is thought to be a magnetically evolved star. That is, there is some evidence that the magnetic braking of the star's stellar wind has lowered the frequency of flares, but not the net yield. Brightness variations thought to be due to rotation of the star and magnetic cycles similar to the sunspot cycle have also been detected. These cause changes of just a few thousandths of a magnitude. The rotation period is found to be 165.1 days, and the magnetic cycle length of 4.1 years. Ross 128 is orbiting through the galaxy with an eccentricity of 0.122, causing its distance from the Galactic Center to range between 26.8–34.2 kly (8.2–10.5 kpc). This orbit will bring the star closer to the Solar System in the future. The nearest approach will occur in approximately 71,000 years when it will come within 6.233 ± 0.085 ly (1.911 ± 0.026 pc). Planetary system Ross 128 b was discovered in July 2017 by the HARPS instrument at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, by measuring changes in radial velocity of the host star. Its existence was confirmed on 15 November 2017. It is the second-closest known Earth-size exoplanet, after Proxima b. It is calculated that Ross 128 b has a minimum mass of 1.35 times the Earth, and orbits 20 times closer to its star than Earth orbits the Sun, intercepting only about 1.38 times more solar radiation than Earth, increasing the chance of retaining an atmosphere over a geological timescale. Ross 128 b is a closely orbiting planet, with a year (rotation period) lasting about 9.9 days. At that close distance from its host star, the planet is most likely tidally locked, meaning that one side of the planet would have eternal daylight and the other would be in darkness. Near-infrared high-resolution spectra from APOGEE have demonstrated that Ross 128 has near solar metallicity; Ross 128 b, therefore, most likely contains rock and iron. Furthermore, recent models generated with these data support the conclusion that Ross 128 b is a "temperate exoplanet in the inner edge of the habitable zone." The survey confirmed the existence of Ross 128 b (Now UAS: Ross-Be) and three other planets. It is assumed that the system had more planets at one time. There are five moons and seven asteroids. A thin asteroid belt between the second and third planet. *Ross-A *Ross-Bee *Ross-Cee *Ross Torus Category:Solar Systems